Who's in the shower with you???

Many of our daily activities are done on auto pilot.  We do them every day without thinking about them or noticing anything about them. Take having a shower, most of us end up thinking about what we are going to do later or start thinking about work.  Instead practice mindfulness and get your day off to a calm and focused start.  Mindfulness helps us step out of auto pilot. It helps us create more space for awareness.  When we are more aware we can change our response to our thoughts, habits and feelings.

So next time you are in the shower, check who is in the shower with you.  Are you already in a meeting at work? You may be having the whole meeting in the shower, going through conversations that you imagine you will have. You could find that you start to experience stressful responses or emotional responses to something that has yet to happen or may never happen.  But your body does not know that you are not in the meeting therefore you could already be stressed and having a full blown anxiety experience before leaving the shower. When in reality it hasn't even happened.

Who's In The Shower With You????

Try to just be in the shower, in that moment and not anywhere else.

Feel the temperature of the water and the sensation of the water hitting your skin, maybe its tingling?  Become aware of the water as it flows down your head and onto your body.  How does the water feel around your feet?  Notice the sensations of shampooing your hair, the scent of the shampoo and shower gel. Be mindful of where you are and experience the moment.

If you mind wanders to the day ahead, and it will! Gently bring your mind back to the shower and what you are aware of.

Just bringing mindfulness into one of your daily activities can help you begin your day calm and focused.  Once you have experienced a mindful shower perhaps choose another daily activity to do mindfully.  The more time spent being mindful less time being spent feeling stressed and with a busy mind.   

 

Keep your body tuned up and functioning at a higher level

Today I took my car for its MOT and as I waited for it to be tested I began to think that many people look after their cars much better than their own bodies. Your car needs to be serviced regularly to keep it going and functioning at a higher level. By having regular services you can maintain a healthy engine and prolong the life of the car. Just like your car needs servicing your body needs servicing too so it can maintain its health and well-being and pro long your life.

If the oil warning  light comes on , you fix it and fill or change the oil. You do not leave it otherwise it could lead to more serious engine trouble.  Likewise, if you ignore warning signs of stress they too could lead to more serious problems such as heart disease and depression.

So just like you look after you car why not begin to regularly maintain your body, help your body to run smoother and last longer, don’t wait for an annual MOT or health check to find out what needs fixing.

Massage therapy goes a long way to helping you maintain a healthy body, along with a healthy diet and exercise regime.  A good routine to get into is at least once a month for a massage.  Many of my clients have a relaxation and stress relief massage every week and some have said they would like a massage every day.  Bob Hope knew the benefits of a daily massage; he lived to be 100 years old. Although a daily massage is probably not affordable how often you should get a massage depends on your needs, your budget and your stress levels.

 Massage has significant health benefits that are best experienced when you get massage regularly.

Keep your body serviced, boost your circulation, reduce blood pressure, and help reduce stress and anxiety, relax your body and calm the mind with regular massage.

Don’t wait for the warning signs that something is wrong, be proactive about your health and well-being.

Joanne

http://www.joanneturnermassagetherapies.co.uk/

Cup of Tea Meditation

There are many opportunities during your busy day to bring in some awareness. It is good to get in the practice of stopping and having a few moments to yourself, just to sit quietly and just be.  One way to do this is the tea meditation.
Often when we make a cup of tea we do so while thinking of what we are going to do next, busy planning, and when we drink the tea we are not aware we are drinking it as we are doing something else at the same time.
It’s a simple meditation in which you bring awareness to the whole process of making and drinking the tea and being present in the moment.

Begin with the kettle, become aware of the sounds as the water begins to boil, the steam and the patterns it makes as it escapes from the spout.
Feel the warmth of the cup or mug in your hands, the warmth of the steam as you raise the cup to your mouth.
Pause and become aware of how you feel, as you wait expectantly for the first zip and then savour the taste and warmth as you sip the tea.
Be aware of the tea as it goes down the throat, the feeling and sensations
Feel your body relaxing
Take your time and savour the whole cup of tea one moment at a time.

This quiet moment is an ideal time to recharge your body and calm your mind.

Turning Turtle

Stress is inevitable with our busy lives and we all have it and sometimes we even need it.  But it’s the unmanaged stress that can lead to mental and physical health problems which can in turn shorten our lives.

I have suggested we turn turtle as a way of helping make our lives more relaxed and less stressful leading to a longer and healthier life.  A turtle can live up to over 200 years old!
Let’s take the pace of a turtle as an example; you don’t see a turtle rushing.  Next time you find yourself feeling stressed and you are rushing around try to slow your movements down.  The pace you move has a direct link with the way you feel.  By consciously moving in a more relaxed manner you will begin to feel more calm and relaxed.   Consciously relax your expressions and your gestures and you will soon begin to notice a difference.

When we are stressed our breathing accelerates, on average we take 15-17 breaths a minute, and up to 20-25 breaths if stressed or extremely anxious.  As the pace of our lives has got faster more people are breathing faster and shallower.  Now compare that to the number of breaths a turtle takes, scientist belief a turtle takes about 3 -4 breaths a minute.
By reducing the pace of breathing a human being can maybe live a longer and healthier life.  Become more aware of your breathing throughout the day, the slower, deeper and fuller your breath you will feel calmer and more relaxed.  By reducing your stress and breathing properly you can look forward to better health and wellbeing.

Relax it's Autumn

Autumn is here, what does it mean to you? crisp mornings where you can see your breath, kicking the fallen leaves and hunting out conkers, log fires, hearty soups and curling up with hot chocolate?

I have always loved autumn, I enjoy gardening and to me it is the beginning of the gardening year not the end.  A time to start planning, wrapping up vulnerable plants, gathering in the harvest, planting bulbs, preparing for winter.

As a therapist I encourage my clients to also look on this as a time to plan, to renew and to start to reflect on how they can look after there mind and body. 

Our bodies need some extra nourishing and nurturing to help us fend of the illnesses and bugs that tend to pop up in autumn.  As well as exercise and healthy eating a regular massage can help you adjust to the seasonal changes.

Some of the benefits of a relaxation massage ;

Relaxation
Reduce Stress
Reduce muscle tension
Improve circulation
Helps you sleep better
Encourages your body to digest food and flush its toxins 

Massage works on both physical and mental levels, healing the body and calming the mind. To make your autumn massage extra special you can try adding hot stones, this is wonderfully warming and promotes deep relaxation . 

So don't look on autumn as the end, look at it as the beginning of a new healthier you, find an exercise you enjoy, look at meditation or tai chi to calm the mind and eat healthy warming foods.

Book regular massage to help keep you relaxed and de-stressed this will help you fight off any illnesses which are common for this time of year.

“Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.”

William Cullen Bryant

Vision Board 2012

At the last meeting of 2011 at a small networking group it was suggested over the Christmas holiday we each created a vision board.  A vision board is where you paste pictures that you have torn out of magazines and form a collage.  I had done similar and created mood boards when I moved into my house 8 years ago showing ideas for how I wanted to decorate each room.
 The idea behind this is that when you surround yourself with images of who you want to become, maybe a change of job, what you want to have, where you want to live, or a place you have always wanted to go, your life changes to match those images and those desires.
When creating a vision board you can go through magazines and tear out pictures and words that appeal to you and then when placing them on your board ask yourself what that picture might mean to you.  Sometimes it may not be clear but if you like the picture and stick it on your board the answer may come much later. However if you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve or desire you can find pictures to match your visions.

I was very clear of I what I wanted for 2012 and set about finding pictures to match my visions.   I had decided I wanted to teach holistic therapies, hold more Mindfulness and meditation workshops, (something I was qualified to teach but was not doing much of it at all) do more art work as I love art and creating and the big one visit the panda’s in China.  My images were glued to a piece of A4 paper and then put inside a plastic wallet to keep it clean.  I placed it by the computer so I saw it every day and later it was moved to beside my bed.

It’s now September and I reviewed my vision board yesterday and I am so pleased with my progress.  After qualifying in March to teach adults I began teaching holistic therapies the very next month.
I joined a stress busting group and had the opportunity to take two workshops, one in mindful eating and one on mindfulness for busy people.
After months of saving and doing extra events I have raised all the money I need to go and spend three weeks in China, working and staying with the Giant Panda’s.
There is still one picture on my board that I have not even begun to do and that is the art work, but the year is not over and I am packing my pencils in my suitcase and intending to do some sketching and mandala drawings while staying a very inspiring country.

Do as the Romans do.....

Today in history, July 12th 100 BC Julius Caesar a Roman General and statesman was born.

Did you know that Julius Caesar used massage therapy to relieve his neuralgia and epileptic seizures; it is thought that he had a massage every day.

The Romans learned many of their healing and relaxation techniques from the Greeks.  Their word for massage was frictus translated as ‘rubbing’.  Massage was one of the principal methods of relieving pain for Greek and Roman physicians.  "The Physician Must Be Experienced In Many Things," wrote Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, in the 5th century B. C., "but assuredly in rubbing... for rubbing can bind a joint that is too loose, and loosen a joint that is too rigid.”
The Romans became well-known for their use of bathing, scented baths, and body treatments using a variety of massage media including aromatic oils. The Romans loved bathing and full body massage and today the remains of their facilities known as “Roman Baths” can be seen all over the former Roman Empire .
Unfortunately by the end of the Roman Empire, massage was associated with indulgence. Emperor Constantine abolished baths and gymnasia, suspecting sexual abuses. Massage study stopped in Europe but later many of the books written by Roman massage writer Galen were translated.

Despite Emperor Constantine , massage continues to be a popular therapy today and we still use some of the early techniques.  Just as a mother uses ‘frictus’ or rubbing to make their child’s knee better a therapist uses, stroking, friction and kneading to help with tension and sore muscles.
Massage has helped many people over the years who have benefited from this ancient treatment, the fact that is still used today just goes to prove it works. Massage should no longer been seen as indulgent or just for pampering but as part of your health and well-being regime.  So if you want to do as the Romans do, book yourself a massage treatment today. Every day like Julius may be a little indulgent but at least once a month massage should be on your 'To do' list.


“si fueris Rōmae, Rōmānō vīvitō mōre; si fueris alibī, vīvitō sicut ibi”
A Latin phrase meaning literally "if you are in Rome, live in the Roman way; if you are elsewhere, live as they do there" or "if in Rome, live in the Roman manner; if you are elsewhere, live as they do elsewhere". A version of the advice given to St Ambrose, quoted by Jeremy Taylor "Ductor Dubitantium".